Help All Children get Active and Healthy with the Marathon Kids Programme

Date Posted: 28 September 2018

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More active children, higher attendance and better attainment.

These things are achieved by giving children the opportunity to do more physical activity, which is why the recommendations are out there for schools to provide 30 minutes a day.

Of course, with packed-out timetables, this is hard for schools to achieve, and that’s why Kids Run Free has developed a programme with evidence-based tools that can help you to achieve this.

Kids Run Free reached over 83,000 children last year with its Marathon Kids programme, and with 95% taking part in 60% of runs offered, the company knows it works!

It also measures the programme’s impact and continuously improves its offer, and the best thing is it’s absolutely free!

The people at Kids Run Free have tried to make it as simple as possible for you to set up the Marathon Kids programme, but there are a couple of things you’ll need to do before you can start running, such as marking out your course and uploading the runners to your Digital Tracking System.

But not to worry, there is a friendly and dedicated support team on hand who are always there to help and offer advice.

How it works

Children run or walk up to four marathons over the year with the emphasis being on working towards their own personal goals, rather than it being a competition. Running a marathon is recognised by everyone as a massive achievement and Marathon Kids breaks this down in a way that makes it possible for all children.

It’s flexible and sustainable and works with your existing timetable so you can run your sessions when it suits you and the school. Plus, you get an online Digital Tracking System (DTS) to measure and track your running, so you know how well you’re performing and when children reach their milestones.

To help you get started and engage the children, you’ll have access to lots of helpful support tools, and if you want a more hands-on approach you could always allocate some of your Sports Premium to purchase one of Kids Run Free’s team of Marathon Makers who will come to your school and set you up.

Starter kits and branded rewards, such as medals and t-shirts are also available from the online shop.

The other great thing on offer is the free KRF Running App, which parents are encouraged to use so families can track their running outside of school. It also connects to the Digital Tracking System so that parents can see how far their children have run at school too – how cool is that?

Kids Run Free is incredibly proud to have the support of global ambassador, Sir Mo Farah, who is helping the company to inspire the next generation:

“I love running and it’s given me and my family so much,” says Farah. “As a dad, I know how important it is for my children to be active, and I’m honoured to have the chance to inspire kids to run with Marathon Kids.”

Marathon Kids is also part of the ‘Active Kids Do Better’ initiative developed by Discovery Education and Nike, encouraging schools to be more active and provides you with the resources to make this happen. Check out activekidsdobetter.co.uk to see what it’s all about.

Now for the science bit! Kids Run Free takes a very scientific approach to the development of the Marathon Kids programme.

Not only does Kids Run Free conduct its own measurement and evaluation, but it’s also partnered with Loughborough University to research the implementation, and with Marathon Kids US to develop a programme that’s sustainable and really does work.

In a nutshell, Marathon Kids is free, simple and effective so why not sign up today and get your school moving!